Pitches you have been on



Played at Crawley's ground in a regional cup final when it first opened but it was a non-league ground then. Lost 2-1 after being 1-0 in the 88th minute or summat. :mad:
 
Johnap said:
Burnden Park
Bloomfield Road
Newport County
Boothferry Park
Elland Road

Roker Park - When the ground was full. I gave permission for the Leeds United coffin to go onto the centre spot (Very proud of that). Standing on the ashtrack looking at the packed Roker End v Man City in 73 - a bit nervously. Played on Roker Park as part of keep fit session that followed running up and down the Fulwell End, running round the track and up and down the Roker End. I was fairly fit in those days. The best time to be on the ground was when it was empty. I would often stand on the Centre spot and just look around at the empty stands - remembering them being full and thinking what a hell of an atmosphere it must have been.

Although if I wanted peace and quiet for a few minutes there was only one place to be - the TV gantry on top of the Clock Stand. You had to climb up on the outside of the Clock Stand and pull yourself up onto the walkway and go up and over onto the gantry. The commentator's box was never locked but the view from the front over the ground was awesome just as on TV. The view over the town and further was fantastic. You could see Blackhall Rocks from there. No PPE, yellow jackets, hard hats then. I went up there for 10 minutes peace and quiet and to think what needed doing. Happy memories.

Sorry to bore you all.
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What was your role at the club? How did you have that access?
 
Played a few times at the SOL.
Had a kick around at the Molineux.
Not a football ground, but played football a couple of times at Sixways (Worcester Warriors).
 
GRD said:
Played a few times at the SOL.
Had a kick around at the Molineux.
Not a football ground, but played football a couple of times at Sixways (Worcester Warriors).
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I've played at Iffley Road, Oxford where Roger Bannister first ran a sub-4 minute mile.
 
Ayresome Park, after the league cup second leg (87 I think). We had to get back to the club car park since that was where our lift back was parked. Problem was figuring out how to do that safely. We would have to peel off the main body of SAFC fans immediately after exiting the gates, go around the corner to the car park outside the main stand. We bottled leaving via the gates, atmosphere was toxic, much more so than the previous Boro away game I had been to, loads of lads looking for bother. It was obvious when we were waiting for the gates to open that there was a very good chance of hell-on. We stayed back, watched the gates open and everyone piled out. To this day I do not know the extent of the bother outside the ground but by the noise we could hear, there must have been a canny bit. We went back in the ground, climbed over the 'security' fence, which took a couple of minutes, (remember they were painted red and the amount of paint on them meant they were not sharp and rotated slowly) ran across the pitch,down the tunnel, straight through the main stand and out the front, didn't encounter a soul until outside. It was a queer carry-on.
 
Done a few but the most memorable one (for my mate at least) was the promo party away at Bury, April 1999.

This fat bastard (me) was struggling to get his rotund physique over the barrier to follow the celebrating hordes after we clinched promotion. Legend has it that I was impaled on the very apex of the fence of quite some time and could easily have quickly plummeted either side as I attempted to gradually shift my weight into safe descent.

That was until my struggles were interrupted by a realisation that - only a few yards away - the emergency exit gates in the fence had been routinely opened without difficulty and anyone with a brain was quickly & safely filing through there onto the pitch.

Fortunately it wasn't caught on the TV cameras.....
 
Played at the SOL in a charity game, notched from the spot.
Played at Dens Park, gave away a shocking goal.
Scored a penalty at Central Park, Cowdenbeath in a half time penalty competition.
Had a kick about on the pitch at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, the year after Maradona’s hand of god goal there, gates were open so me and a few mates just walked in.
 

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